Home Buyers Survey Hitchin

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"First Class Service. We are more than impressed with the quick, professional service we have received from this company, very clear report with good Photograph, of areas of interest, also the Team followed up the report with a phone call to make sure we understood the information that we had received. EXCELLENT. Thank you"

Val Edwards, Trustpilot review in November 2019

* Competitive Prices - Local Surveyors - Same Week Availability - Terms Apply

What Types of House Survey Do We Offer?


SAM is one of the UK’s largest network of Surveyors with local surveyors throughout England. Our most popular property surveys are HomeBuyer Reports and Building Surveys and these inspections are completed by local RICS surveyors who have years of experience.

We handle all of the booking so you just need to call us for a quote and then we'll handle all of the access for you.
We offer many types of house survey including:
  • Level 2: HomeBuyers Report
  • Level 3: Building Survey
  • Damp & Timber Survey
  • Load Bearing Wall Survey
  • Chimney Breast Removal Survey
  • Snagging Survey
  • Removal of load bearing wall Survey
  • Property Valuation Survey
  • Probate Valuation Survey
  • Leasehold Valuation Survey
  • Structural Engineer Survey

If you are unsure which house survey to book click here or call us and we’ll advise you.

Not sure whether you need a Level 2: HomeBuyers Report or a Level 3: Building Survey? Find out by clicking here and seeing example reports
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Local Building Surveyors (throughout England)


House Survey 

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RICS Surveyors

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - RICS Surveyors

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FREE Online Conveyancing Process for Buyers

Includes online checklists, videos, downloads and tips - plus it is free to use and remembers your progress.


House Survey Cost

Love our Competitive
House Survey Costs

We keep the house survey cost down regardless of what property survey you need and tell you how much does a survey cost.

Home Buyers Survey Hitchin

Local Hertfordshire 
Building Surveyors

Our Building Surveyor uses their local knowledge of Hitchin to ensure they deliver a detailed homebuyers report to help you decide whether you should move forward with your home move or if you should pull out.

Home Buyers Survey Hitchin

Fast Availability and
Delivery of Reports

We normally have availability within days of you booking and our turnaround for homebuyers survey reports is within 5 working days.

Hitchin HomeBuyers Survey

Panel of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors - RICS Surveyors

All of our chartered RICS Surveyors are registered with and regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and have indemnity insurance that covers all of the work they undertake in a HomeBuyers Report Hitchin and Building Surveys in Hitchin.

A Home Buyer Survey - What does it cover?

A Home Buyers Survey is completed by a qualified RICS surveyor and delivers a visual inspection of the property in Hitchin and the surrounding garden. The aim of the survey, whether a Building Survey (which used to be known as a Full Structural Survey) or a HomeBuyers Report, is to identify potential risks or defects that you may not know are there such as cracks or damage to the structure of the property, subsidence, damp and infestations.

NB If you're a first time buyer, you might wish to click on What is a House Survey to find out more, including what happens during the inspection.

Click to find out how much does a house survey cost (free, no obligation quote)
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Subsidence Inspection

The surveyor will look for signs of subsidence during the structural survey within the property paying special attention to signs of cracking internally and to the external walls. As a rule, if you can fit the width of a 50p into a crack in a wall, it could be a sign of subsidence. Our surveyors will flag in their reports if they feel you need to instruct a structural engineer to review a crack further.


Read more about subsidence

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Damp Testing

There are numerous reasons why a property can be affected by damp. The Surveyor will take samples in the property using a damp meter and assess the condition of the property to provide a report on whether they feel the property is affected by damp. Further investigations maybe suggested including getting a damp and timber specialist. 


Read more about damp testing and repairs

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Identify Infestations

Woodworm, mice, rats and ants are infestations that your don't want in your home. Your surveyor will look for visible signs of mouse droppings, damage to floor boards (when visible) and damage to wiring, carpets or skirting boards


Read more about infestations

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Asbestos

Prior to its banned use, asbestos was a commonly used building material, particularly as part of cement products, floor tiles and roofing shingles. Asbestos was used for its durability and resistance to heat and is commonly found in artex ceilings, garage roofing and chimney stacks. Your surveyor will confirm if they suspect any materials in the property have asbestos and if so, suggest getting an asbestos surveyor to intrusively taking samples of the asbestos to confirm the type. A damp meter is used in a HomeBuyers Report Hitchin survey and the readings included within the report.


Read more about asbestos

If your survey highlights concerns relating to any of these defects your surveyor explains what the issue is in detail and provides a recommendation as to what you should do to further investigate. An example of this is if your surveyor spots signs of damp within the property. Over 5,000 properties a week in the UK have damp proofing laid to combat the issue of rising damp and home buyers fear seeing mould, peeling wall paper and sodden floors as these are all tell-tale signs of rising damp.

If your property is showing these signs and your surveyor notes using their damp monitor that there is damp internally they'll advise you to get a damp specialist to attend the property, confirm the issue advising whether it is rising damp and quote for the costs in repairing with damp proofing.

If you're looking at buying a home in Hitchin which is showing signs of damp, or any other defects then you MUST get a Home Buyers Survey. The costs for repairing the defects can run into thousands of pounds; however, If you can identify the problem before you purchase then you can get quotes for fixing it and either share the costs with the seller, or, in worst case examples, choose not to proceed.

You can find a local RICS surveyor by using the search at the bottom RHS of this page.
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Survey tips for properties in Hitchin


Hitchin is a market town in North Hertfordshire and dates from the 7th century. Its St Mary's Church is the largest parish church in the county and while most of it dates from the 15th century, its tower dates from around 1190.

Hitchin is fortunate in having retained so many of its ancient houses, though most of them have been refronted and much altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. In Bancroft or Bancroft Street, at the north end of the market-place, are many old houses. The Market place is cobbled and surrounded by old traditional buildings dating back to the 15th century. Tudor and Georgian buildings surround the town creating the beautiful look that Hitchin is so famous for.

Hitchin flourished in the time of the wool trade in the 17th century but grew considerably when the railway arrived in the middle of the 19th century.

Hitchin has a number of new housing estates also in and around it, built during various eras of the 20th century and right up to the present day. New build developments include large detached and semi-detached houses in Cedar Gardens and Talbot Street and apartments and even barn conversions in Oughton Head Way in Oughton Way.


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Properties in Hitchin which are built in close proximity to the River Purwell, including streets such as Woolgrove Road and Green Lane, is in an area which is subject to flood alerts from time to time.

If you are concerned that a property you are looking to buy is in a flood risk area, you should consider getting a flood risk report (click for more details).
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Some properties in Hitchin are located nearby to existing or proposed sites for wind farms or wind turbines.

A recent environmental search carried out for a property in Dickens Boulevard for example, flagged up that the property was built within 4km of existing or proposed wind farms or turbines.

The location of wind farms or turbines can be contentious due to visual and auditory impact.
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Your RICS surveyor inspects drains during a survey of a property in Hitchin, where the drain cover is accessible and on the site of the property.

If the drains are reported to be blocked you may need to employ a drainage company to inspect the drains with CCTV such as Draincall Services Limited .
HertfordshireHertfordshire is commonly abbreviated to the name Herts and is a county located in the south of England. it is bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south (it is classed as a 'Home County' for this reason). The county town of Hertfordshire is Hertford.

Hertfordshire has 3 motorways running through it - the M1, the M25 and the A1(M). It is particularly associated with new towns as it contains 5 in total: Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield and Letchworth. There are two airports just outside Hertfordshire's borders; Luton and Stansted. It also has a university, the University of Hertfordshire, which is in Hatfield. There are a number of independent schools in the area, including, for example, Haileybury (Turnford), St George's Harpenden, Haberdasher's Aske's (Elstree) and Berkhamsted.

For random facts; St Alban, who gave his name to the city in the county, was the earliest British saint - he was reputed to have been beheaded where the cathedral now stands; also Sele Mill near Hertford was the site of the first paper mill in Britain, established about 1488. 

Listed Building Surveyors Hitchin
We have local RICS surveyors who specialise in listed building surveys in the Hitchin area including its surrounds including e.g. Ickleford and Pirton.

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Hitchin Planning Application Search

You can review what planning applications have been granted or denied for properties in your area by contacting North Hertfordshire District Council at Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City SG6 3JF, telephone 01462 474 000 , or you can check for the most recently stored planning applications online here:


Read the following article if you are thinking about building an extension.

RICS Find a surveyor in Hitchin

Our Building Surveyors specialise in the local area and have completed house surveys in Ickleford, Holwell, Pirton, Offley, St Ippolyts, Spellbrook and Letchworth.

We employ only expert RICS Building Surveyors to undertake surveys in Hitchin. Whether you are buying an old run down 'doer upper' or standard construction freehold house, our RICS surveyors have seen them all.

With a vast number of years of experience completing surveys on properties in Hitchin we'll be able to give you the detailed report you need to know what defects there are with your property.

You can see some of our expert surveyors by clicking here - 


Home Buyers Survey Hitchin

Recently completed surveys near you:

  • 33 Tennyson Avenue, Hitchin, Herts, SG4 0PY
  • 92 Cambridge Road, Hitchin, SG4 0JH
  • 37 Dickens Boulevard, Stotfold, SG5 4FD
  • 23 Windermere Close, Stevenage, SG1 6AG
  • 175 Canterbury Way, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 4LG

 

What happens if you choose the wrong survey for the type of property?

If once the Building Surveyor turns up to complete the survey, they feel the property does not suit the type of survey purchase, the surveyor will inform the client and the survey will not take place.

The scope of work of a HomeBuyer Report is different from that of a Building Survey. You an read the scope of work in a HomeBuyer Report here.

In most cases, the surveyor will agree to complete the appropriate inspection and then the client can pay the additional fee for the more appropriate survey.


Does your property look like this?

Purpose Built Flat in Hitchin
A purpose built block of flats similar to this will always require a Level 2: HomeBuyer Report and not a Building Survey because there will not be the requirement for the additional detail you get within the Building Survey as the property is too young and built using more modern building techniques.

Does your property look different to this? Then read our guide on which survey suits your property type.

Which survey suits your style of property in Hitchin
Choose which survey based on its type, style and age
Get a competitively priced RICS quote
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